Past, Present, and Future
by Sorceress Myst
Summary: Sophia had always believed in ‘Fayt’, but now she has to rely on destiny as a mysterious force sends her back in time on Elicoor II. Glophia /GlouXSophia/ with other implied pairings and friendships listed in the first chapter.
1. Destiny's Calling

Hmm… not much to say about this one except WHY DIDN'T I THINK OF THIS SOONER? This is going to be a sequel of sorts to my previous fic 'Like a Little Boy for Her to Watch Over' and will mostly be about the seldom heard of Glophia (Glou and Sophia) pairing. Other pairings will include implied Fayt/Maria, somewhat implied Cliff/Mirage, Albel/Nel friendship with a light hint of romance between them at the very end of the story, and slight Fayt/Albel friendship. Also, for those who have read my fic 'Aquios High', you will probably be delighted to know that Glou and Nevelle will be having the same personalities in this fic.

Oh and if you end up falling for the Glophia pairing, then you should also check out Piaugerieque Cattibreovocon's fic Musings of a Hue. Our fics maybe proof that great minds think alike.

Past, Present, and Future

Up to date it had been five months since the defeat of Luther and nearly everything had returned to normal. The team had separated after recovering (and partying) for two weeks and tried to move on with their lives. For a while, Sophia had enjoyed being back home with her parents and going back to school until she began missing her companions. It wasn't long before she became restless and started neglecting her school work much like Fayt did when he was in high school. Before the journey she loved going to school to learn and hang around her friends between classes, but now she was too different. Her former friends had nothing in common with her anymore and the journey had left her craving for another adventure, making her depressed within the school walls.

She often wondered how everyone was fairing. Did Cliff and Mirage get together or did they split up? Had Maria disbanded Quark and was finally living how she wanted to live? Where did Fayt go after he left Earth? Are Aquaria and Airyglyph still going through a truce or are they at war again? Had Nel, Clair, and Adray repaired Arias? …Had Albel healed from all his emotional wounds and moved on with life? Actually of all people, Sophia was most concerned about Albel.

Ever since he had come into her life, she had always doted on him like he was her child, as strange as that sounded. She couldn't help but worry about him. He was always unhappy and it seemed his only drive in life was fighting. Also, she couldn't stop herself from rushing to his side when he so much as scraped himself and that annoyed him to no end. Sometimes Sophia wondered if the only reason Nel came to help her heal Albel was because she got a kick from watching him get annoyed by the attention. …In fact that probably _was_ the reason. Those two could be such children sometimes. It was sad enough that Sophia was more mature than the both of them despite the fact she was younger than them! But of course she couldn't blame them. They were both from rivaling countries and one of them wanted to be better than the other while the other didn't want to lose to the first.

Luckily for Sophia, her desire to see everyone was granted when Fayt suddenly called, saying that they were needed on Elicoor II. The Vile Wind had not vanished from the underdeveloped planet and Fayt felt responsible for the mess even though he had nothing to do with it. At first the team had thought the Vile Wind was something Luther had programmed but since it was still going after all this time, the idea became unlikely. When she arrived everyone there was all happy to see her and was ready to start the new journey. As it turned out, there were rumors that this 'king of the undead' named Romero was the one responsible for the Vile Wind and Albel had been the one to first see him. It seemed that even the demon was too much for the Wicked One to handle, but Romero ended up fleeing from him nonetheless.

Originally, Albel wanted to chase down the demon on his own, but Woltar insisted that he call for some help. The help he called for was only Fayt, but Fayt (much to his displeasure) had invited everyone else to join in. There were a few people Albel didn't want to see again, Cliff and Adray especially, while there were some he didn't even care about, like Maria and Mirage. He acted like he was upset that Nel answered Fayt's call, but Sophia knew better. She knew he wanted to continue their long time quarrel on who was the strongest and which country was superior. It almost seemed that Albel jumped at the chance to prove to Nel that she was nothing more than a 'weakling Aquarian'. But when Sophia had arrived, Albel didn't have anything to say to her, not even a dirty glare. He only nodded at her to acknowledge her existence, much like how he always greeted Fayt, and then walked off to accomplish some task. It took her awhile to decipher his actions when he had used them on Fayt, but she found that the gesture meant that he respected you and that he didn't think that you were a complete idiot. It felt nice to know that he respected her now!

So now here they were, traveling around Gait and Greeton as they searched for the whereabouts of Romero so they could put a stop to his evil plans…whatever those evil plans could be.

"Okay everyone, let's set up camp and rest for the night," Fayt ordered to the tired team as they reached a grassy area. The grass was lush and cool, meaning that there had to be a source of water nearby and there was a beautiful overview of the Greeton countryside to the west of the chosen campsite.

Cliff immediately set out to pitch one of the tents while teaching Adray how to use the remote devices for the other electronically built tents. Eventually Mirage had to take the controls away from the aged runologist before he destroyed everything. Maria was in the middle of programming a force field to protect them from monsters as Fayt watched her from over her shoulder. Sophia had noticed how close Fayt and Maria were getting, but despite the fact that she used to dream of being by Fayt's side, she wished them well. Somewhere along the way, her crush on Fayt had vanished and he began to feel more like a brother to her. Unfortunately, the crush lasted until after they entered 4-D space, meaning that for some time, she _had been_ jealous of Maria.

Sophia had known Fayt ever since they were little. She knew everything about him just as much as he knew everything about her. But then some strange, quiet girl had to come along and suddenly she was kicked out of the picture! …Well maybe not 'kicked out', it wasn't like Fayt completely abandoned her and there were times when she silently bragged about the jealous/left out look an Maria's face when Fayt paid attention to her. But still, for a while, it seemed like the time they spent together meant nothing to him every time she saw him with Maria. After all, wasn't she the one who was always by Fayt's side when his own parents were too busy to care for him? Even the whole 'they were both experimented on' excuse was unfair because he treated Sophia no different when they found out that she was enhanced too. But now she had come to accept the fact that Fayt loved her because she was family and that he _loved_ Maria because she could understand his pain and suffering. …Too bad that Fayt hadn't mustered the courage to tell Maria his feelings for her yet, but Sophia was sure she was well aware of them.

Sophia busied herself with starting the campfire after Albel returned with some wood. Seeing that his task was done, he immediately went off to talk to Fayt. It seemed that even before the last journey was over, Albel and Fayt's rivalry melted away into a close friendship. Sometimes she'd catch snippets of their deep conversations and was surprised at how well learned Albel was. The two swordfighters' main subject was often politics in Elicoor laced with views on sociology and psychology of its inhabitants. It did show Albel in a new light when she had found that he showed interest in how people thought. Considering that he had to interrogate prisoners during the war, he probably knew a lot when it came to the mind and knew exactly how to manipulate it so he could get the answers he wanted.

Across the campsite, Nel was pacing back and forth. No one could think of a chore for her to do and she still had a considerable amount of energy left in her. Dinner wasn't for another two hours and there was no need to hunt for food. She had absolutely nothing to do for the time being and it was making her restless. Eventually she had enough and quickly concocted a job to free herself from boredom before heading over to Fayt.

"Hey, Fayt? I think I shall go scout ahead for safer paths across the upcoming mountain range-" but her idea was quickly cut off by the competitive Glyphian.

"_I_ will go scout ahead… You'll probably get yourself lost, woman," he scoffed, earning yet another glare from the red haired woman. Fayt nervously scratched his head and sweat dropped as he recalled five minutes ago that Albel hadn't wanted to go scouting and had refused the offer.

"Hmph! I'd get no more lost than you would! Besides, I thought you were going to sharpen your weapons?"

"I can do that when I return …It's not like I'm some pathetic Aquarian who can't get their tasks done in one day."

"Oh I forgot how 'amazing' and 'talented' Glyphians are!" Nel said sarcastically as she lifted a hand in the air, "Look Albel, I need something to do right now and you already have a task so…"

"Then you can sharpen my weapons while I go scout the paths… That is if you can handle that task without destroying my weapons."

"Guys!" Fayt called before another argument erupted, "Since you both want to go, then…"

Sophia glanced up at them. Uh-oh, this wasn't good. Fayt was about to use a common tactic that most leaders use when they couldn't make a decision. He was about to suggest something that definitely _wasn't_ going to help.

"…why don't you go together?" It was a simple solution to a problem, but unfortunately the Aquarian and the Glyphian were too complex for it. Fayt failed to see that the point was to _not_ let the other go. It did get them to stop arguing however, but it also earned him stares from the two that were clearly translated into 'you're joking, right?'

"Um, Nel?" Sophia started, coming to the rescue, "I don't want to be a burden, but if you want something to do, do you think you could go search for a hot spring or something? It would be really nice to have a bath after all that walking we had to do today."

Nel paused for a moment, at least it was something for her to do, but still… that would mean Albel won and he was bound to not let her forget it for awhile. She decided that fulfilling her friend's request was better than wasting her breath on the twisted warrior, "Okay, I can do that. If there are no hot springs, then I could probably use runology to heat a pond."

"…That's probably the only thing you could do right," Albel muttered behind her. Thankfully Nel chose to ignore him.

"Then it's settled, Nel can go search for hot springs and Albel can go scouting," Sophia replied as Fayt thought it over.

"Sounds okay to me, just be back before dark."

"Fine," Albel agreed as he began walking away. Nel nodded to Fayt and then was about to go when she stopped and glanced at the retreating Glyphian.

"Have fun scouting! I'm sure you will do fine since this is a fitting mission for such a manly, skirt-wearing Glyphian like you."

Immediately Albel scowled and turned to glare at Nel, but she had already disappeared, "…It's not a skirt! It's a sarong!"

He then stormed off, not caring if she was still around to hear him or not. Fayt and Sophia chuckled once he was gone.

"I wonder if they will ever get along?" he questioned as he and Sophia headed back towards the campfire.

"They probably will someday. After all, I remember when you used to fight with him all the time too and now you're both friends."

"Hmm…" Maria started when they sat down near her. She had been listening to the conversation up to this point and decided to speak out, "Speaking of those two, isn't a little odd at how childish they've been acting lately?"

"Yeah, I mean, when they first met they were always been butting heads, but they at least treated the other like an adult," Fayt agreed as he brought a hand to his chin.

"I don't know if I can call myself an 'expert Albel observer', but I think he's been happy since the defeat of Luther and has been using that extra energy on Nel, leaving her to retaliate with just as much enthusiasm," Sophia added.

"You mean like a whole domino effect from an unusually good mood?" Fayt wondered with a slight grin. By then Cliff and Mirage were done setting up camp and came to join everyone else around the camp fire.

"What? You guys talkin' about Mr. Tall, Dark, and Indecorous? If ya ask me, I'd say he's trying to impress the little lady," Cliff commented, earning a bit a speculation from some of them. Fayt only muttered under his breath over his surprise that Cliff even knew the word 'indecorous'. It wasn't like the Klausian was dumb, Mirage and Maria knew that fact well, but his attitude had even Fayt convinced that he was on the slow side.

"I don't think that could be possible. I thought he hated her." Maria replied while slightly shaking her head.

"Actually, he doesn't," Fayt remarked, gaining everyone's full attention. He _was_ the only one in the group who knew Albel the best, "I'm not going to go as far as to say that he _loves_ her or anything, but I do know for a fact that he doesn't hate her. Remember when he got the Crimson Scourge? During the ceremony, the sword had asked him who or what he hated the most. I'm not going to tell you what he answered, but he didn't say Nel…or any of us for that matter. It has to be true since the sword would have made Albel go mad if he had lied."

"You mean he _isn't_ insane?" Cliff inquired incredulously.

"Cliff!" Mirage scolded. The large man flinched when she brought up her hand, thinking that she was going to hit him, but instead she brushed back a stray piece of hair behind her ear before she suggested, "Maybe he wants her to notice him so they could be friends. He's never really shown good people skills before so this may be his way of getting her attention."

"That…actually makes sense. I'm not an 'Albel observer' either, but I remember that he _did_ treat Fayt in a similar way before they became friends," Maria concurred, "…But considering this is Nel, that might not work the same way. In fact, it might not work at all."

"I don't know, I think it is working. Usually Nel ignores people who try to annoy her, like Cliff for example." Sophia smiled when Cliff reacted to what she had said, "Perhaps Nel is playing his mind games so she can understand him better."

Fayt, Maria, and Mirage seemed satisfied enough with that thought, but more debates were forstalled when Fayt ordered, "As fascinating as this is getting, we better talk about something else. I don't want one of them to come back and hear that we are talking about them."

"Good point, let's talk about what's for dinner instead," Cliff proposed before his stomach decided to talk for him by growling.

"PREPARE TO FACE YOUR DOOM FOUL BEAST!"

Everyone quickly turned to see Adray screaming at a stuffed toy of some animal from the Klausian systems. Cliff had bought it for Maria and Mirage a long time ago, back when he was leader of Quark. It was uncertain which of the three had decided to bring the toy, but apparently it was still important to all three of them because they jumped up instantly.

"Adray, no!" they yelled as they ran off to stop the confused swordsman.

After a few minutes, 'Fuzzy-Butt' as Cliff had called it during the struggle, had somehow defeated Adray in battle. The stuffed toy was so large (many had to wonder how it went unnoticed amidst the camping gear) that it easily topped over the grey haired runologist after Mirage swiped his sword out of his hand. True, it wasn't heavy, but Adray was by then confused when he heard the others screaming at him to not attack and was thus stunned. Once things calmed down, Nel returned from the path that Albel had taken earlier and approached Sophia while eyeing the strange stuffed animal. It was suspicious that she had come back from that way, but as much as Sophia liked the idea of Nel and Albel having a secret relationship behind everyone's back, she knew that it was just a coincidence. ...But that didn't mean she wasn't going to tease her about it later.

"You're in luck, Sophia, there's a hot spring just ahead," she reported while gesturing to the path she came from, "…What _is_ that thing?"

That 'thing' happened to be the stuffed animal. Cliff was currently cursing in Klausian because Adray had accidentally managed to rip it. Mirage sewed 'Fuzzy-Butt's' claw back onto its sixth leg.

"It may be a good idea to not know… Anyway, you found a hot spring? Great! We should go after we eat since it's almost time to prepare dinner," the brunette said while occasionally casting glances at the rather scary animal. How did Maria not have nightmares with that thing around?

"Then in that case, I say the guys should take a turn first," Fayt replied before he grabbed a towel.

"Okay, but if you get the water too dirty, then you're finding the girls another hot spring!" Sophia warned. Fayt teasingly stuck his tongue out at her before walking off.

"Cliff, why don't you go take a dip too? ...You're beginning to concern me again…" Maria muttered the last part under her breath. Sometimes she wondered if Cliff bought the toy for himself despite the fact that it always stayed in Mirage's room.

"Nah, I'm worried about Mirage coming to watch and end up raping me later on…"

Mirage paused on the last stitch and then gave Cliff a deadpan stare. He only grinned back at her before chuckling over his joke.

"Just kiddin'. I knew I'd get your attention with that. Come on, Adray, we'd better get cleaned up so the girls will stop grimacing at our smell…I _know_ that's what you were trying to say Maria."

"…Was not," she replied softly while backing away towards Sophia and Nel.

Adray stepped out of the tent he was sharing with the other guys and sniffed under his arms, "Nah, you go ahead. I don't need a bath for another week. I'm still fresh and clean from the last one I had…three weeks ago."

Everyone grimaced in disgust and Nel slowly shook her head. She was already used to the old man's antics and usually avoided him for that reason. During the following moment of awkward silence, Cliff decided to follow Fayt and take a bath as Nel and Sophia began preparing dinner. Eventually Adray wandered off, much to the girls' relief.

"Where's Fayt?" Sophia turned to find that Albel had returned and was behind her. His blood colored eyes was focused on her as he waited for an answer. She glanced at the sky and realized that a lot of time had passed since the boys had left.

"Oh he's at the hot spring, he'll be back any minute now."

"You mean the wench actually found one?" he scoffed before he glanced at Nel. The Aquarian looked like she wanted to fling some of the mashed potatoes she was making at his face, but successfully resisted the urge.

"What, do you have short termed memory? I pushed you into it when I found it earlier," she responded sweetly as she put down the bowl. She received a particularly nasty scowl from him after that comment. After a quick inspection Sophia realized that his hair and clothing were damp and had possibly been drying for no more than an hour. She had to wonder when they had run across each other since they had left camp in opposite directions. It was apparent, however, that their meeting there was an unpleasant accident.

"I figured you didn't know what one looked like and ran off to find something else. Besides, you didn't push me, you tripped and fell against me, clumsy wretch."

"You'd say anything to preserve what little dignity you have," she retorted with a faint blush on her cheeks that indicated that he may have told the truth.

"Right," Sophia started while trying to hold back her giggles, "Albel, why don't you…"

She didn't get a chance to finish as there was rustling in the bushes, warning everyone that Fayt and Cliff were returning.

"Hey Albel!" Fayt called when he reemerged from the area of the hot spring with Cliff close behind, "What did you find?"

"Absolutely nothing. There is only one path to take and it seems to lead through the mountains. I told you it was pointless to go scouting ahead," the dark swordsman muttered.

"You did?" Nel inquired with a raised eyebrow.

Albel stared at her long and hard before he crossed his arms and eventually replied, "…No, not really."

Once long ago, in the Urssa Lava Caves, they had had a conversation very similar to the one they just shared and back then, Nel only shook her head in slight disgust at the man. Now, she had a slight smile on her face as she shook her head…but she still had to fight the urge to throw something at the arrogant Glyphian and his seemingly large ego. It certainly was a glimmer of progress for the two and Sophia didn't know why, but she was inwardly cheering for them. …That is until Maria brought to her attention that the meat she was roasting was about to catch fire. Thankfully she was able to save the food in time and everyone had their fill. After that, Mirage, Maria, Sophia, and Nel left to take their turn in the hot spring and then it was time to go to sleep.

Sleep came easy for all of the inhabitants of the girls' tent save for one. Sophia was still wide awake in her sleeping bag, staring up at the night sky through the opening she always slept near. She had done this every night ever since they came into Greeton territory. Her thoughts were always about her friends and her relationship with them. She basked in the warmth of being surrounded by friends and family- Her 'Uncle' Cliff and 'Aunt' Mirage. Her 'brother', Fayt, and her future 'sister-in-law', Maria. …'Grandpa' Adray… And of course, from her many musings, her 'son', Albel and her possible 'daughter-in-law', Nel. She wasn't really alone with them around and yet…she _was_ alone. Friends were nice, family was even better, but she didn't have that special someone to spend time with. Fayt had Maria, Cliff had Mirage, and as much as they didn't like it, Albel and Nel had each other (Sophia refused to believe there was anyone else for them so that really did leave them with little choice). …There _was_ Adray, but he was way too old. So who was left for Sophia? No one. She spent her entire life trying to make others happy and didn't mind the fact that there was no one there to make _her_ happy. In her stubborn mind she believed that if others were happy, then she was happy, but at times like this her doubts surfaced.

Usually her thoughts would tire her out, but this time they led to an ache that prevented her from sweet slumber. Unable to bear it any longer, she decided to go out for some fresh air. Perhaps she could stoke the fire and watch it until it died. Sophia was surprised to find that someone else had beaten her to the camp fire. Albel. His eyes had been trained on the open flap of her tent, so he now knew she was still up. His gaze almost looked as though he didn't want any company, but his attitude held no threat and she wasn't in the mood to go back to her sleeping bag. Without a word, she strolled up to the nearest log and sat down. She kept her eyes to the ground and hands folded in her lap in an attempt to not agitate Albel into leaving.

"What's your problem?" She jumped at his question. She didn't expect him to actually talk to her. She carefully brought her gaze up to him and was shocked to find that he looked almost a little concerned.

"What do you mean?" Sophia countered. It wasn't like she was making any faces or sighing, so he why was he asking?

"I'm not blind, woman," he scowled as he poked a splitting log with a stick, "You've been acting depressed ever since we left that disgusting Aquarian city."

"Arias isn't 'disgusting' and you know it," she retorted in a light tone. She was flattered that Albel had been observing her, but this was the one time she didn't want anyone to know about what was bothering her. What would they do about it if she told them that she wanted someone to love? She needed an excuse to throw off the astute Glyphian, "I've been tired lately, that's all. I'm not depressed about anything, in fact I am very happy to be here with all of you."

"Bah, of course you're tired, you've been staying up for the past 16 nights. That and lying isn't very healthy."

She had to blink. Albel had done some growing up since the end of the journey. The old him would have just muttered 'whatever' and let it drop, but now he was trying to help. Did that mean he cared about her? …Then again, it wasn't just with her. He'd been friendly with Fayt, been kinder to Cliff (though he still called him names), and hadn't said worm or maggot unless he was referring to the actual insect. Fool was still in his vocabulary, but even that wasn't used often.

"I'm sorry, Albel…but I don't want to talk about it." She knew she just confirmed his suspicions and was going to receive more questions that she would have to sidestep. She always had to stay on her toes when it came to Nel asking her what was wrong, but Albel was tougher to avoid.

"…Whatever," he muttered and let the subject drop. Sophia inwardly let out a sigh. So _now_ he lets it go. Either that or he was trying to catch her off guard and trick her into telling him. She decided to take initiative and change the topic so he would forget.

"What about you? You're still up and I bet you haven't been sleeping well for the past few nights," she started, earning a small twitch from him. She knew full well that he still had nightmares and it was most likely the reason he was out here. Sometimes in the middle of the night she could hear Fayt trying to persuade him to go back to sleep from inside the tent.

"I hear this enough from Fayt and Nel, I don't need you to contribute," he snarled. Nel? She had been getting on his case too? Sophia knew she had been leaving the tent the past few nights, but she had thought it was to answer the call of nature.

"Okay, no more talk of our insomnia cases. Deal?"

"…Fine. …Not like I wanted to know what your problem was anyway," he agreed. Sophia smiled as silence enveloped them. He may have grown up, but he still acted like a kid. Perhaps he was unconsciously making up for the childhood he was denied.

"Albel…?" whatever she wanted to ask died on her lips. She didn't know what else to say.

"What?"

"…You…You've changed…a lot," she finally said. His eyes narrowed at her as if he were trying to find out what she really wanted to tell him, but ended up huffing.

"I blame you." She held in a gasp. Did that mean…?

"You mean I was the one who changed you? …I thought I only annoyed you?"

"You did. You're almost more annoying than _her_," he replied. She knew very well who he was referring to. He glared at the girls' tent like he was expecting the red haired spy to come out.

"But," he continued after a sigh of resignation, "it seems that the persistence that you, Fayt, and Nel gave to push me to the end of my patience was enough to make me face reality and move on."

"I'm glad to hear that," she smiled before another thought crossed her mind, "…but what exactly has Nel been doing to annoy you, besides being born an Aquarian?"

"…She breathes," he retorted in a sarcastic tone.

"…That's not what I mean. It's just that it seems that your little rivalry contest has been going on even before the war between your countries."

"Possible. I _was_ unfortunate to have known her when we were children," Albel growled irritably as he became more uncomfortable with the topic.

"Unfortunate? You seem to be enjoying every minute of teasing her." That hit the nail on the head as Sophia quickly found herself caught in an intense death glare.

"Watch it Sophia, or else I'll resume the initial misconceptions I had about you."

Time itself seemed to stop. That was the first time he had ever called her by her name and-wait- What misconceptions? Time sped up again. Did he just tell a joke too? If Nel was here, she'd probably crack a joke about it being the end of Elicoor!

"You're certainly full of surprises tonight, but that was a bit mean. Besides I just figured out your secret: you like-"

"I don't _like_ anyone!" he snapped and stood up before she could finish.

"Mm-hm, sure. Don't worry I won't tell anyone, even if you keep those initial misconceptions," she replied smugly when she noticed a small tint of red on his cheeks, "Now that you're up, you should go to sleep. Even you need rest."

"Feh, whatever _mother_." Her eyes widened at his words. Why did 'mother' stir so much emotion within her? Now she was the one blushing while his crimson eyes were trained on the ground.

"Heh. That is probably the reason why I never had the urge to kill you. …You remind me so much of my mother," he began walking back to the tent he shared with the guys, but stopped at the flap, "…And for the record, I do _not_ have any sort of feelings for that Aquarian Scum."

"So you say, but so far you've been calling the people you really care about by their real names. You just revealed that a second ago," Sophia replied before he could go in. The whole 'mother' thing had sent her into spiral of strange emotions, but she still managed to contain them long enough to give him a parting comment. His claw fisted in the material of the tent in a furious fashion, leaving holes that Cliff will surely notice in the morning.

"You know nothing…" he struggled with his words before deciding to finish with, "…maggot!"

Then he was inside before she could respond. He had only confirmed her suspicions about his feelings and revealed new ones that she never thought were possible. She reminded him of his mother? Sophia had thought of herself like one and once vowed to protect the warrior from emotional distress. She was enlightened to find that her efforts had made a change in his dark persona, but was still distraught that he was still torn inside. The nightmares weren't going away and she still had no clue how to stop them. She wished she knew more about his childhood! She wished she knew his parents. After all, his father must have been a great and powerful man and his mother must have been the most beautiful and wisest lady in Elicoor.

Who was she fooling? Sophia was just making herself unhappy with these 'wishes' and 'what ifs'. Her dreams weren't coming true. There was no knight in shining armor for her and she couldn't even be a real mother for someone she deeply cared about. She knew very well that Nel and Fayt were having more of a positive impact on Albel than she was because they at least understood him and knew his past. She had given everyone she knew her love and support and received nothing in return…

"_Wish granted."_

The emerald eyed brunette gasped softly as she heard the familiar voice in her head. Before she knew it, her form disappeared from the campsite, leaving no trace of her for the others to find in the morning.

* * *

"Are you sure this is right? I mean, we promised not to tamper with anyone's lives in the Eternal Sphere since the Owner disappeared," a nervous programmer said as she typed more coordinates in her terminal. Blair Lansfeld smiled gently at the screen that showed Sophia being carefully lowered to the ground by some unknown force.

"Don't worry, this is different," the grey haired woman reassured as she pulled up several characters and their stats, "This has happened before, but this time it's with an actual character. It's destiny that she should be moved back in time and even though we have the power to change it, I don't want to interfere with destiny."

Her assistant accepted the explanation and grew a little less apprehensive as Blair started leaving clues for the closest character in the area to find Sophia. She had known this was going to happen, but she never dreamed she would actually meet the character she was 'tampering' with. Blair considered herself so lucky to have met Sophia and her friends and was more than glad to make the young girl's secret dreams come true. Even she knew that everyone deserves a little happiness …even if it came with a price, but, knowing Sophia, she would have been glad that it happened even after the price was paid.

* * *

Well that's chapter one and the last time Fayt, Cliff, Mirage, and Maria will be appearing for awhile. Don't worry though, they will be back. I'm intending to update this only after I make an update on Aquios High so it may be awhile… Better start working then, C ya! 


	2. Andrea of the Future

Believe me, I had this chapter done a long time ago, but my motherboard burned out and it took a month to find a new one. I was lucky that I didn't lose this chapter. Unfortunately, soon after the computer was fixed, college started up and I was working on Aquios High in between homework assignments and I lost track of time …and I didn't notice how long the other update was getting. Hopefully I'll catch up soon and get story updates out faster.

Anyway I don't own Star Ocean or any of its characters, but that's really nothing new.

Chapter 2

The last thing Sophia remembered was the warmth of the campfire before a veil of darkness came over her. When she came to, she felt like she was being carried. She unconsciously let out a soft moan before the gentle movements stopped and she felt herself being lowered to the ground. She must have finally passed out last night and the others must have let her sleep in. That's why she was being carried. At least that's what the young brunette thought as she tried opening her eyes. Who was kind enough to be carrying her? She should thank them once she regained her senses.

Her sight was a bit blurry, but she was able to see crimson and brown before her. There was only one person in the group with a color scheme like that, but it was impossible to fathom why he would be the one to help her.

"…Al..bel…?" her shaky voice managed to croak out.

"Sorry, but I'm afraid you have the wrong person," the blur replied in a voice as deep as Albel's but much lighter in tone than the original. Soon her eyes focused, allowing her to see the crimson eyes framed by short, but shaggy brown hair with some strands of blonde near the top. The man before her looked no older than Mirage, but had the air about him that he was well past his thirties. Whoever he was, he was a lot like Albel in appearance, but at the same time, very different in personality. He had a lean figure, but was not overly muscular like Cliff or Adray and he wore light armor that protected vital areas. He also had a familiar looking sword that was secured tightly to his belt.

"…Where am I?" Sophia softly inquired as she regained her voice. They were on a pebble and dirt path, surrounded by trees that made it look like they were in a jungle. This was obviously not a path that was traveled often.

"I can't tell you exactly where since this is supposed to be a secret place for me and my friends, but I can tell you we are near the border between Airyglyph and Aquaria."

"What? How did I get here?" she squeaked in a slight panic as she carefully tried to stand up. The stranger helped her accomplish that and stayed near to make sure that she could keep her balance.

"Well you don't seem injured," he muttered to himself, ignoring her questions, "I found you a few hours back in the middle of the road. Had I not found you, you would have been monster food. …What was the last thing you remember before you passed out?"

Sophia became more confused as he talked but kept a calm attitude around her, "I was traveling with my friends in Greeton and I think I blacked out by the campfire after everyone went to sleep. That's all I know…"

"Hmm… You were alone and there were no signs of a camp anywhere. Are you from Greeton?"

"No." She shook her head, remembering exactly how to reply to Elicoorians she had never met before, "I come from a land much farther than Greeton…and it's the same with my friends, except for the two Aquarians and a Glyphian."

The man's eyebrows rose with intrigue, "I'm from Airyglyph, maybe I know the Glyphian. I don't know how long you have been missing or passed out like that, but your friends may be searching for you."

"His name is Albel," she responded quickly, hoping that he was right. While she was worried about what happened to her, she was more worried about what could have happened to them. If they were all searching for her, then that must mean that they were okay.

The dark haired man held his hand to the stubbles of hair on his chin as he appeared to be in deep thought, "…No, never heard of an Albel before."

"Are you serious?" Sophia cried out in disbelief. Everyone knew Albel, even Aquarians. This man must have been living in a cave or something, "He's Albel the Wicked, captain of the Black Brigade. I thought everyone knew him."

"Nuh-uh and no one in Airyglyph knows someone like that either. …What's a 'Black Brigade'?"

There was something wrong. She could sense that very easily, especially when the man's red eyes glared at her with suspicion. They hadn't been gone from Gait too long that people were trying to forget the war and the Brigades, right?

"Um…never mind. I think I'm still a little woozy, I was probably dreaming that…" she chuckled nervously under his gaze.

"…You are starting to sound like someone who appeared out of nowhere awhile back…You don't happen to know an Andrea?"

"No, never heard of that person."

"How do you know she's a person?" he inquired instantly, like he was trying to catch her in a lie. Well despite what he thought, she didn't know who he was talking about.

"Oh, she's from the Sanmite Republic then?" She didn't even need to act confused- she _was_ confused.

"No, just checking. I guess it's not the same case then," he muttered more to himself than her. She didn't even reflect on it since she was finally freed from his piercing gaze.

"Well…uh," he began sheepishly as he rubbed the back of his neck, "What do your other friends look like? …Just in case I run across them, you know."

Sophia noticed that he was starting to walk away, and quickly ran to catch up with him. Somehow she knew that he might not even find them at all. But still, more importantly, there was something strange going on. She was definitely back in Gait, but her friends were not and Albel wasn't recognized anymore. She didn't even know what to do since she didn't know where she was or how to fight the monsters by herself. She decided to follow her new companion for the time being until she figured out exactly what was going on.

"Out of the friends who are not from Gait, there's Fayt and Maria-both have blue hair, and there's two blondes with green rings er-_tattooed_ around their necks and their names are Cliff and Mirage," she explained carefully. She was still on an underdeveloped planet, so she figured it was better not to mention the birthmarks of Klausians lest it make the man think there was something suspicious about her again.

"Heh, sounds like you're traveling with two pairs of twins," he said with a chuckle that Sophia couldn't help but find charming. Now that he mentioned it…Fayt and Maria _do_ kind of looked like they were related. She had never really noticed before now.

"They're not…Cliff is way older than Mirage and they don't even look similar…and I guess the same goes for Fayt and Maria, but they are the same age."

"I see, and what of the Aquarians and the Glyphian?"

Sophia froze. Maybe it wasn't a good idea to mention them at all, at least considering how delicate the subject of Albel was, "I don't think I should…"

The man stopped too when she trailed off and glanced at her until he seemed to understand something, "Oh, you're worried about the tension between Airyglyph and Aquaria, aren't you? Don't worry, I may be the captain of the Dragon Brigade, but I too have friends in Aquaria and I rather not see us going into war."

"Huh?" She was sure she sounded stunned. _Dragon Brigade_? She was there with Fayt and the others when they witnessed a man obtaining his new title as captain of the Dragon Brigade and this man wasn't him. And why is he talking like the two countries haven't gone to war yet? Her companion's eyes widened slightly when he realized…

"My apologies, I've never introduced myself…and since you are not from around here, you probably don't recognize me," he said as he bowed gracefully, "I am Glou Nox, leader of the Dragon Brigade."

Glou Nox? _The_ Glou Nox? The same Glou Nox who was _Albel's_ _father_? Just what was going on! Albel said that his father was dead and there was no way she could have been sent back in time…was there? Maybe this was another Glou Nox, one that's not even related. …But then, the Glou Nox that Fayt had told her about was the captain of the same brigade as this one was. Suddenly she was pulled out of her stunned thoughts when he gently grabbed her hand and tilted his head to look up at her. His half-lidded crimson eyes peered though his dark brown locks to stare intently at her green eyes.

"And you are?" he purred though a small grin.

Sophia felt her cheeks warm at his action. Oh, he was certainly a suave, chivalrous man. Just like a knight from one of her favorite fantasy/romance novels. How on earth was _this_ man the father of Albel Nox?

"I'm Sophia…Sophia Esteed," she said softly as she tried to fight down her blush.

"That's a lovely name. A pleasure, my lady." He then kissed the back of her hand in a true knight fashion and let it go as he arose from his bowing position. The poor brunette felt her heart pounding against her chest from his charm as she giggled slightly before she silently berated herself for falling for it. She wasn't always a sap for romantics like him, but then again, romance had never really been directed at her before. …Besides, he was probably just being nice to her since she was lost. After all, why would he be falling for her? He's already married to Albel's mother, that is if he had met her yet.

Her hand was still tingling from his soft lips as she muttered a thanks for his kind words and continued down the path with him. So she was somehow in the past. That much was cleared up. She struggled to remain calm with the new information. So how far into the past was she and how would she return to her time? And how did she get into the past in the first place? She knew now that it was probably not a good idea to stay with Glou since she knew what was to become of him. Even if she were lucky to have met him before the time of his death, she knew it was not a good idea to mess with the past and try to save him for Albel's sake. But still…who else did she have to turn to at this time? Then again, who's to say that her friends were not transported here as well? But if that were the case, then they would have found her already.

Perhaps the best thing to do is to not mention Albel, Nel, or Adray to him or mention anything related to the war or the truce between Airyglyph and Aquaria. That way she could stay with him for awhile and not mess up the future. Sophia was so lost in thought, that she almost didn't catch what Glou was saying to her.

"…Your name really is a unique one, like something royal. By any chance you're not a runaway princess from your lands are you?"

"N-no, I'm not even from nobility," she responded quickly, a little nervous from her revelations of time travel. It was true though, back on Earth, her family was considered no more than upper-middle class since her father wasn't a famous researcher like Fayt's parents and her mother was just a surgeon.

"Oh," he said with no hint of disappointment in his tone, "But despite that, you must have had some upbringing. Your movements are very graceful and not to mention your beauty rivals even the fairest princesses of the past."

"Please stop, you're making me blush," she requested with a smile as a hand flew up to cover her now reddened face. He couldn't possibly be hitting on her, he just met her!

"Sorry, you must be tired of hearing that all the time." Glou dared to glance at her again, looking truly apologetic. She tried thinking back to the last time in her life when a guy had ever flirted with her, but then realized that none have ever called her 'beautiful'. Cute yes, but not beautiful.

"Actually, no one has ever…" she trailed off when she saw the quick surprised look flash across his features.

"Then the men from your country are obviously blind," he stated as he held back a stray tree branch for her. The way he had said that was so serious that she wondered if he was flirting with her at all. Perhaps he was just being nice after all. Either way, she couldn't afford to be swayed by his words since she didn't belong in this time period. And a relationship wouldn't work out at all because he was already taken. Actually she wouldn't be surprised that he had billions of women who had their eye on him back in Airyglyph what with all that charm he possessed.

"Well anyway, I am on my way to a secret meeting with my Aquarian friends and since you don't seem to be bitter towards either country, I'm sure that I can trust you to keep this area a secret from other people, right?" he inquired with a sideways glance.

"I'll keep it a secret! I wouldn't want you getting in trouble after how you saved me and all."

"Thank you…and about my friends, they may have seen yours or probably know your Aquarian friends so don't be afraid to ask them. Also," he bit back a slight chuckle, "…they may strike you as strange, but just pretend that they are normal and you'll be fine."

Sophia laughed as well as she thought of her friends. They were kind of strange too, especially Adray, so she was certain that she would have no problem getting along with Glou's friends. It wasn't long before they heard male voices in the distance as they drew closer to their destination. When they arrived, Glou gestured her to stay back a little before he moved aside the foliage to reveal a small clearing that was cut in half by a tiny stream, possibly a borderline for Airyglyph and Aquaria. Inside the clearing on the far side were two men, one that Sophia knew very well and the other was a familiar looking stranger. She couldn't believe her eyes when she saw a very young version of Adray standing there. He was shirtless and had the same stature as he did in the future, but he didn't have much of a beard forming and his grey hair was as long as his daughter's and was tied back into a neat ponytail. The other man had short red hair and cerulean blue eyes and wore a spy uniform similar to what Clair and Nel wore, but it was more masculine in design.

"And so you flew high into the air and struck the beast from above before I grabbed its fin and slammed it to the ground. When it was over, we heroically rode off into the sunset on graceful lum while dragging the demon fish with us," Adray finished with pride as the red haired man glanced back at him skeptically.

"I…flew?" he inquired in a curious tone.

"Yeah, higher than a dragon," the muscled runologist confirmed.

"Who makes up these stories? We were just fishing- and that fish wasn't even a demon. …And why did we ride off on lum? I thought we were on a boat in the middle of the sea?"

Adray only shrugged, "I don't make up the stories, I just live them."

"Who is it telling you these 'Adventures of Nevelle and Adray?" the man asked as he glared at the larger Aquarian. Glou suddenly smirked as he guided Sophia further into the clearing. …So that red haired man was Nel's father? It seems like she only inherited his hair color because her features were much too feminine to resemble him.

"It's called 'The Adventures of _Adray_ _and_ _Nevelle_'," Adray corrected as he cautiously backed up a step, "And he told me not to tell you his name."

"Oh?" Nevelle prodded with an unconvinced look that made Adray shrink away.

"…Well look at the time! I should be getting back to the missus before she worries. Can't wait for Glou every time you know," he called as he ran out of the clearing.

"…But he's right there…" Nevelle pointed at Glou until it clicked. He then scowled, "You can't run forever Adray! I know who you're conspiring with!"

"Really? Who?" the dark haired swordsman inquired with a grin.

"Hey dear friend, late again I see," the spy greeted cheerfully before he obtained a dark look, "Stop it."

"Stop what?" Glou queried innocently.

"Stop telling Adray those dumb stories. I know you're upset that the people don't like the 'Epics of Nevelle and Glou' anymore, but don't you think that people might worship Adray in those farfetched stories?"

"They were the 'Epics of Glou and Nevelle'," Glou chuckled. Nevelle rolled his eyes as his hand pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Fine, but the title switches around in Aquaria, I can't stop the storytellers. You know with the tension and all."

"Yeah, all those great rumors about us are now abandoned since the commoners don't want to think that we are friends. …Well that will change someday. I still remember the plan, I have a son and you have a daughter and then we force them to like each other and get married to bring peace to our countries."

"Right, but I'm going to have the son and you will have the daughter, " Nevelle nodded, "Once you find yourself a wife, that is …So are you going to introduce your new …companion?" he wondered while glancing at Gou and Sophia's hands. The irony of their future was quickly forgotten in Sophia's mind when she became the center of attention. In the back of her mind, she couldn't believe that they argued like Albel and Nel (minus the biting insults)-and they were arguing over who would have a son or a daughter!

Glou finally realized that he was still holding her hand and quickly let it go, both blushed in response. Now it was Nevelle smirking as Glou tried to cover up his embarrassment.

"This is Lady Sophia, she is lost and looking for her friends. Sophia, this is Nevelle, a rather crazy spy who supposed to be my enemy as of late."

"Just Sophia," she quickly corrected as Nevelle muttered something in retaliation about the 'crazy' part.

"Pleased to meet you Sophia," Nevelle smiled as he jumped across the stream and walked towards them. He then gave an appreciative glance at her before facing his long time friend, "Very nice. For awhile there, I thought you were never going to find a woman. I mean sure you always help out the ones in trouble but you never have taken the time to flirt with them."

"Nevelle, it's not like that," Glou said sternly as Sophia blushed once again. So he wasn't married and was looking for a wife. She must have been pretty far in the past. But she hoped that Nel's future father wasn't trying to say that Glou was trying to win her attention. Sure he was handsome but it still wasn't certain how long she would be in the past. It couldn't possibly work out.

"Nonsense, you never take the time to actually try to help a girl find her friends, you just make sure they are safe and send them on their way. Besides 'you're not a runaway princess from your lands are you?' and 'your beauty rivals even the fairest princesses of the past'- you _never_ say things like that to women…or men for that matter _thank Apris_. But still, she is a very nice girl perhaps even-" Suddenly Glou appeared from behind the spy and covered his mouth before he could say anything else to embarrass the warrior.

"Okay you have been eavesdropping, so then you know the description of her friends. Have you seen them?" He had a rather evil sadistic smirk that reminded Sophia of Albel as Nevelle shook his head.

"Haven't seen anyone like them, but could you give a description of the Aquarians?" Nevelle eventually asked her when he broke away from Glou's grasp. Once again, she found herself in a tight situation. She wished she had kept her mouth shut about them.

"Well…um… She has short hair and carries daggers. Her eyes are a violet color," she started, making sure not to mention Nel's red hair in case the hair color was rare in Aquaria.

"What about a name? And give me a full name," Nevelle requested as he racked his brain for someone similar to what she described.

"Nel Z-," she stopped herself in time and tried to think of the first name that popped into her mind, "Her name is Nel Leingod."

It was after she had said it that she realized how much she was missing Fayt and the others. It had only been an hour since she had awakened, but it felt like days since she had last seen Fayt. Nevelle blinked once before glancing at Glou, who only shrugged back at him.

"That's not an Aquarian name. You don't have to lie, I won't turn your friends in for associating with Glyphians."

"I uh…" Her emerald eyes drifted to stare at the ground. Now what could she tell them?

"Wait…maybe her friends have been exiled because the others thought they were betraying their country and that's why she won't tell us," Glou guessed, "It would explain why they were traveling around Greeton."

"…If that's true, then would they really risk coming back here to find her?" Nevelle wondered in a concerned voice as Sophia let out a silent sigh of relief. That would be a good excuse for now. Now all she needed was to keep quiet until she was safely in a town and then try to find a way back to her time once she was away from the two.

"Well what else could she do? Should one of us escort her to Greeton? You know I can't go unless your people don't mind me passing through," Glou suggested. Greeton… Maybe that was a good idea. She could probably find her way back to where the campsite was and figure out what caused this mess.

"I can't do it either, Queen Sirvia has ordered me to investigate this uprising in Surferio. There are rumors that they are going to attack Peterny."

"Again? Everyone knows those little midgets are going to lose their nerve before they even begin to organize."

Sophia was not only feeling left out of the conversation, since she didn't even know what had happened in Elicoor in the past, but she wanted to leave before she could slip up and endanger the future.

Nevelle could only offer a shrug, "Well Adray is planning to take a trip to Greeton maybe she could travel with him until they come across a town she knows."

"With Adray? No! That guy couldn't stay still if his life depended on it, he'd probably endanger Sophia…"

So far she liked the idea because Adray never mentioned meeting someone who looked like her and it was most likely because he forgot. He was not really famous for his memory, just for his 'legends', runology, and fighting skills.

"I don't mind. I know how to handle him. He's easy to deal with if you ask for a story-" Sophia immediately clamped her mouth shut. What had she done? As far as they knew, she didn't know Adray and now blurting that out was bound to make them suspect her of something odd. A pair of blue and a pair of red eyes stared at her for a long time as her stunned faced glanced back at them sheepishly. When the men's gazes went to each other, she entertained the thought of running away and wondered if they would chase after her if she did. She was in for yet another shock when it seemed like they shrugged it off and continued where they left off.

"Perhaps it's a little early to be planning this. We should wait a bit and see if her other friends come by to look for her," Glou said with an uneasy smile.

"Good idea, I will keep an eye out and tell you the results at our next meeting. Farewell Glou and Sophia," Nevelle replied as he headed back to the Aquarian side of the clearing.

"W-wait! Don't you think she'll be safer in Aquaria?"

The spy glanced back with a sly grin, "Please, I have a wife waiting for me at home. She wouldn't appreciate me bringing home pretty women even if they are lost."

Glou only glared at his friend as he back flipped unto a tree branch.

"Good luck buddy!" Nevelle snickered quietly to Glou before disappearing among the green. Sophia couldn't help but back away slowly as Glou composed himself. Why would they just ignore what she said? She had said something bizarre to them and was half expecting Glou to question her again. She could sense something was wrong and her nerves tensed in response. He didn't seem like he was going to harm her…

"Okay Sophia," he finally muttered after a long silence, "Now tell me, where are you from, and this time tell the truth."

"What do you mean? I told you the truth. I'm from a land far away from here, farther than Greeton."

"That much I believe, but I'm not so sure about the rest. You sound too much like Andrea, you know people you haven't met yet, like Adray, and you mention things that don't exist…or at least not yet apparently. Andrea spoke of a Black Brigade too."

Sophia paused in the middle of her fake excuses to throw him off. Andrea… She had never heard of her, but if she knew of the Black Brigade before it was created, then perhaps she wasn't the only one to be sent to the past, "Who is Andrea? Tell me that before I answer anything else."

"Andrea was a peasant girl from Greeton who appeared out of nowhere in Aquaria. She claimed that she came from ten years in the future and begged for someone to help her find a way back to the future. She didn't know much about Airyglyph or Aquaria, but she knew all the armies that existed. She even mentioned that Airyglyph had three powerful armies and was the strongest of the three kingdoms in her time. Currently only a few men in the brigades are warriors, let alone knights while the rest are just snot nosed nobles that congregate to gossip and sip their tea," he explained while leaning against a tree trunk.

"And what happened to her? Where is she now?"

"Well everyone thought she was a raving lunatic and promptly sent her to an asylum."

Her eyes widened. Was that what was going to happen to her? Be sent to an asylum because she said odd things? That must have been why they ignored her earlier, they were planning to send her there without alarming her. If they locked her up, then how was she going to find her way home? How would she find her friends again? Glou sensed her sudden distress, but was too late to stop her from running away from him.

"Wait Sophia! Don't go that way!"

She didn't listen to him as she focused on getting as far away from him as possible. Her heart raced along with her feet as she furiously pushed past all the tree branches and bushes in her way. She didn't hear any signs of pursuit from behind, but refused to stop and check. Sophia didn't know how, but she was going to find her way back on her own with no help from anyone. She was alone now and needed to take care of herself. She could be independent like the other girls! How hard could it be?

Sophia's determination was cut short when she unwittingly ran into some rather sticky thread that was draped across the plants. She struggled to get it off only to get more of the thread on her until she was at the point of getting stuck. Cold dread washed over as she realized that it was webbing from a spider. Now unlike other girls, she wasn't that afraid of them, but considering that it would take a giant spider to produce that much web, she had a feeling that she could start an arachnophobia. Sure enough a shrill cry resonated from the trees and a large eight legged creature emerged. It was a unique cross between a spider, a demon tree, and a reptile, possibly a monster that was long extinct in the future.

She immediately thrashed about to get free, but it was no use. What was she thinking? She couldn't fight it. Girls like her were doomed to stereotypical roles as housewives or second-rate nobility destined to marry to help her family gain an ally. She hadn't had a hard life like Maria, Nel, or Mirage and hadn't received training like them. Her friends were hardened fighters that could cope with their equally hard lives, but she was a pampered, domesticated woman who mostly relied on Fayt to protect her.

_Fayt…Albel…_ "…Help me!" she cried into the air as the beast crawled closer to her. She couldn't let it end like this! She wasn't even born yet! Her struggling only managed to free her left arm. It was rather useless because she was right handed and couldn't cast symbology with it. Still it was worth a try. She could probably cast a firebolt spell since it was the easiest symbol to draw.

The monster's maw was spilling a green substance that seemed like acid as it made the ground disintegrate on contact and the stuff was getting too close for comfort. She quickly weaved the spell in the air and called it forth, landing a fiery hit among the several eyes of the spider monster. A second ball of fire twisted around to hit one of the monster's gnarled reptilian legs. It wasn't powerful enough to kill it, but it did make it back away with an anguished screech. Once the spider monster recovered, it began charging with the intent to kill its prey, but it was cut off when another human jumped directly into its path.

"Hey why don't you try me first?" Glou taunted as he unsheathed the Crimson Scourge. The beast only raised a leg to swipe the intruder out of the way and ended up having half of it cut off by the sword. It was more than enough to bring the creature's full fury upon him as it tried to pounce on the swordsman. Glou was barely able to dodge out of the way, making it crash to the ground. Sophia noticed that he was limping slightly as he continued to evade the monster and saw some blood that seeped through his dark blue pants. He must have injured himself when trying to chase her down.

Feeling guilty that she was the cause of all of this, she tried to make a Healing symbol with her left hand, only to end up with an awkward, useless spell that went up in smoke. She tried again in vain and ended up with the same result. She repeated her actions again and again until she was able to make a spell similar to Healing with her left hand. It wasn't as powerful as the original spell, but it was enough to take the pain away in Glou's injury. Sophia earned a shocked look from her rescuer before he focused all of his attention on the spider. Now that both his legs were in good condition, he was able to climb on the beast's back and drive his sword into its weak spot, instantly killing the spider.

Light blue blood oozed out of the spider and coated the Crimson Scourge. There was crackling and snapping sounds like twigs being crushed as the legs curled underneath the body and the sounds were accompanied by hissing from the spider's mouth. When it was certain that the monster was dead, Glou easily flicked the blood off of his sword and replaced it back into the sheath before he turned to face Sophia. She glanced at the ground in embarrassment that the person she was running from had to save her from danger. When he was in front of her, he seized her left arm and pushed back the pink material to view her arm.

"Where are your runes? I saw you cast runology a second ago," he inquired, amazed that he only found unmarked flesh under her sleeve.

"I don't need runes. My people can cast spells by weaving symbols in the air and we call the practice symbology."

"Symbology? Fascinating…" he replied before walking away from her to sit on the ground.

"Uh-Hey! Aren't you going to get me out of this?" she yelled when she realized that he wasn't coming back to help her.

"Nah, I think I'll keep you there awhile longer so that I won't have to worry about you running away," he grinned as he searched his travel bag for some blueberries.

"Meanie!"

"…I'm hurt that you think that, but I can't have you running off like that with more monsters like that Arachaeothyris running around here," Glou said before popping a blueberry in his mouth. He chewed on the berry for a minute and then asked, "Why did you run off anyway?"

"Because you were planning to take me to an asylum!" she snapped while holding back her tears. She didn't like being betrayed anymore than being trapped in an Arachaeothyris web. He could at least untie her and hold her down to prevent her from leaving him. What a jerk!

"…I see, so you're apparently from the future too." She ceased in her thrashing movement and glared at a nearby bush to keep from answering him. When he was certain that the silence was pretty much a 'yes', he sat up and looked at her earnestly, "I never said that I was going to take you to an asylum, so you don't have to worry about that."

"…How can I trust you?"

"I really have no proof, but I leave you to decide for yourself if you want to trust me or not after I finish Andrea's story. Yes, she was sent to an asylum, but she didn't stay there long. The Aquarians in charge of watching her figured that she was pretty much harmless for a loony person and let her go. After that, she obtained disciples and a few scholars to help her figure out the phenomenon that had sent her to the past and a way to reverse it. In the end, despite all the help she had, Andrea journeyed the world on her own to find out how to go back and she reported to her disciples in Peterny every month to inform them of what she had discovered thus far. It happened like clockwork, she'd come on the 30th day at exactly noon until she suddenly stopped coming back."

"So she found out how to return to her time?" Sophia inquired in a hopeful tone.

"No way to tell. She could have found it …or she might have given up and settled down somewhere, or she could have been killed. She didn't want anyone traveling with her and she was rather defenseless so no one would know what happened to her," Glou explained before he pulled a few knives from his travel bag.

Sophia stayed quiet as she let the tale soak in. Perhaps it was a bad idea to try to solve her problem on her own, she could end up like Andrea and be stuck with the possibility of not finding her way back. She could very well die in the past and never again see her friends again. No more Fayt trying to be a leader, no more of Maria's creepy silence, no more Mirage beating up Cliff in their many sparring matches, no more battles of wit between Albel and Nel…

"I'll cut you loose now. We better hurry back to civilization before nightfall, the nocturnal beasties are worse than the ones during the day-…hey what's wrong?" Glou wondered as he lifted her chin to look at him. Tears were pouring down her cheeks leaving salty rivers across her smooth skin. The thought of never seeing anyone from the future ever again broke her resolve to remain calm.

"I-it's nothing… I'm just worried about my future…what if I die here in the past?" she choked out between sobs.

"That's not 'nothing'," he muttered as he used his slender blade to cut her free from the sticky web. He then caught her before she could fall to the ground and allowed her to let it all out, even if it meant that his clothing would become soaked. He wasn't quite sure what to do as he wrapped his arms around her gently. He never had to comfort anyone before, so this was a new experience for him.

"…You don't need to worry. As long as I'm around, you will be safe and sound. I will not let anything harm you," he whispered soothingly as he waited for her sobs to subside. When there was nothing but hiccups left, he pulled away from her to look her in the eye, "Feel better?"

She nodded as her hand flew up to furiously wipe away her tears, "I'm sorry, with all the things that happened recently, I guess I needed a good cry."

She was stopped when Glou grabbed her hand and then watched him as he pulled a soft silk handkerchief out from its hiding place underneath his armor and wiped away the remaining tears, "Don't be sorry, you are a very brave woman, but even brave women need to let their emotions out once in a while."

She felt encouraged by his words and was grateful that he was there to comfort her. Not even Fayt could make her feel like this, she felt kind of giddy. Glou didn't have to rescue her-twice, and he wasn't obligated to comfort her when she was in tears. Also, he didn't have to tell her Andrea's story. He was a good man and she felt that she could trust him, "Thank you."

"Not needed. It's the truth." He still had an arm around her waist and let it fall before he turned towards the golden colored light shining through the plant life. It was the afternoon sun bleeding through the darkness in a last attempt to lead travelers out of the wilderness before it rested beneath the horizon, "Let's go."

"Wait!" Sophia called as she grabbed his arm, "So you're saying that you believe that I'm from the future?"

He glanced back at her and then shrugged, "I don't see why not. After all, this happened three years before with Andrea. You never met each other and yet you mention the same things from the future…but just to be sure. Who is the king of Airyglyph in your time?"

"King Airyglyph XIII, Arzei Bohneid," she replied. Glou's expression lightened and a grin appeared on his face.

"Little Arzei? That's good, he has some good ambitions. Nice to know the kingdom will be in good hands."

"Huh?" she froze when it clicked, "You didn't know? I thought Andrea-"

"She didn't know his real name, I was just curious and thought I'd ask."

Sophia crossed her arms and glared at him, "This is another reason why I ran away from you. I know too much about Airyglyph and Aquaria's future and you might abuse that knowledge!"

"I won't. I believe that it's destiny that the future events should happen and I will do nothing to stop them. But know this: Even if you hadn't told me that Arzei was going to be king, I still will be supporting him in the future. Also I can tell that in your time, I'm dead. Why else would you know Adray, but not me or Nevelle? And you mentioned an Albel, which is the name of my deceased grandfather and what I plan to name my son, so that's how I know that you should have met me in the future, because you met my son."

"Well…" she didn't know what to say. Would Glou be worried that he would die someday?

"I knew long ago that I may not die a quiet death in my bed of old age and even that knowledge won't stop me from living. As long as I die protecting something worth protecting then I have lived my life to the fullest, even if that moment is tomorrow."

"…I don't know how you die, but Albel, your son, mentioned that you saved him," she offered, awed by his brave words. He smiled as he grabbed her hand.

"By telling me that, I take it that you trust me now?" His answer was a nod. Glou then pulled her so that she was walking beside him as they headed out of the forest, "Good. Now I would be lying though my teeth if I said that others wouldn't want to use your knowledge for their purposes so you need to stay with me until we find a way to get you back home. …And…'Sophia Esteed' is an unusual name around here. You will need a new name so you can move freely about here without worrying about getting marked up in the history books."

"Sounds like a good idea, what do you suggest?"

"I'm thinking Dirna Belphobe. Dirna is the name of the goddess of fire and it just seems to fit you. Belphobe is the name of the nobility in Airyglyph that just recently died out and _I _just 'happened' to find the only survivor of the prestigious family," he suggested with a sly grin.

"A Glyphian name? …But I'm not a Glyphian," she said with doubt.

"They won't know that and who knows, maybe we can start a legend for the Glyphian side while Nevelle and Adray keep their dumb rumors for Aquaria. I just have this feeling that we are going to make a great team together."

Sophia felt the heat rising to her cheeks again, "Okay then, Dirna Belphobe it is."

They continued the rest of the journey in silence, but along the way, Sophia noticed that they were still unconsciously holding hands. She decided not to mention it because it kind of gave her comfort. It felt like Glou was still trying to protect her. When they were almost to the edge of the jungle, Glou discreetly glanced down at their hands and gently tightened his hold.

"Sophia? May I ask another question?"

"I guess," she replied, curious about what else he could possibly ask about now.

"So if Albel is my son, then is that Nel girl Nevelle's daughter? Their names seem too similar for me not to notice."

She didn't see the harm in responding since he swore that he was not going to change the future, "Yeah, she's his daughter."

"…So then I have a son and Nevelle has a daughter?" he asked again in a disbelief sounding voice.

"Mm-hm," she nodded and was then met with stunned silence. Maybe that information wasn't what he wanted to hear. But when she turned back to look at him, he let out a happy yell as he pulled her in for a hug.

"So I'm right and Nevelle's wrong for once!" he chortled as he lifted Sophia and spun her around with him in glee. She couldn't help but laugh at his excitement when she was placed back on the ground, "Heh, I can't wait to see the look on his face when-"

He saw the change on her face and quieted down, "…Not that I'm going to rub this information in his face until after the children are born."

Glou then realized that she was smiling and not frowning at him when he turned to face her, "Apris, you have a nice smile."

"W-we should keep going before nightfall, right?" she stuttered as her blush intensified.

"Right," he smirked and then led the way out.

Goddess of fire indeed. Dirna was the perfect name for Sophia because she feared that she was going to have a permanent red coloring on her cheeks as long as Glou was around.

* * *

I thought Dirna was a good name for Sophia since the dictionary entry in the game sounded like her. 

Dirna (Myth/Tradition) A goddess of fire and one of the primary goddesses of the Church of Apris. Dirna has two forms, one of fury and one of wisdom. Legend has it that when she takes the form of fury, she uses a magic staff endowed with the power of ancient dragons, and when she takes the form of wisdom, she wields a bow that shoots dazzling beams of runological light.

Doesn't it sound like her? As for the Belphobe name, I made that up. I just thought it sounded cool. I hope you enjoyed the new chapter and I'll try to get the next one out sooner.


	3. Thread of Fate

…Yeah I'm still alive and writing. I'm slowly going back to all the old fics and updating them when I have the time. I just hope all the Alnel fans won't kill me for updating this first. Then again, not many people read my last Alnel 'My Best Friend's Wedding' so maybe I'm safe.

*Exsinion-sama and several Alnel fans form a mob*

…I'm dead. Well anyway I hope you'll love this fluffy chapter!

Disclaimer: I do not own Star Ocean 3 or any of its characters. I just own the time warped storyline.

Chapter 3

It had been a quiet journey out of the forest. Sophia finally felt like she was calming down after all that had happened until she came face to face with a large red dragon. Sophia let out a startled cry before she backed into Glou. The dragon narrowed its eyes in annoyance of the noise and snorted out two puffs of smoke from its nostrils. Glou tried hard not to laugh at Sophia's reaction, but still ended up with a short chuckle.

"Now, now, Greyn. You shouldn't surprise people like that. I don't think I have the energy to chase this one again," he chided playfully to the dragon. Sophia blushed in response to his indication.

"T-this is your dragon?" she inquired to cover up her embarrassment.

"Yes. This is Greyn. I made a pact with him during my Ascension of the Flame…" She listened intently to his words as he rubbed the smooth scales from Greyn's neck to his side. He then checked the saddle and reins before glancing back at her, "Have you ridden a dragon before?"

Her immediate response was shaking her head 'no'. She heard stories from Fayt on how he rode a dragon about as big as Greyn and how he rode the marquis of dragons, Crosell. From the way he talked, he made it seem like it wasn't a hard thing to learn. Greyn shifted a wary eye towards Sophia as Glou mounted him. His golden-green slanted eye showed that he disapproved of her already.

"Well now is a good time to learn. Fort Bequerel can only be reached by dragon flight so just ride sidesaddle behind me and hang on tight," he said as he reached a hand down towards her. Sophia timidly reached for his hand before Greyn rolled his eyes and leaned down for her. The dragon acted like this was an everyday occurrence, making her wonder if Glou actually _was_ a flirt and offered rides to other ladies. Any other thoughts were banished from her mind when she found herself quickly pulled up behind Glou. Greyn crouched down and extended his wings before Sophia had the chance to wrap her arms around Glou's waist.

With a massive jump, Greyn was in the air and flying gracefully through the wind. Sophia almost felt her heart plummet down to her stomach from the pressure of rising into the sky. She felt the wind whipping wildly through her hair and against her dangling feet. When she pried open her eyes, she found plains, hills, mountains, and clouds beneath them. With a small squeak she clung to Glou a bit tighter. She could handle heights from a spaceship or tall buildings, but on top of a dragon was a different matter! After Glou got over the initial shock of her hugging him tighter, he began to chuckle at her again.

When Sophia noticed, she forgot her vertigo and glared at him, "Do you _like_ scaring me?"

"I don't like the fact that you're scared, but yes, I do like it if you're going to cling to me like that every time," he replied over the roaring wind. She blushed and quickly loosened her grip on him. If they weren't several feet in the air, she would have let go and pushed him over.

As Sophia grew more accustomed to flying in the air, she became brave enough to watch the scenery go by in the now dimming light. She couldn't quite figure out where they had started from, but she was able to recognize Kirlsa as they flew over it. It wasn't long before they were flying over the Bequerel mountain path and past the mountain itself before Glou directed Greyn lower. Behind the Bequerel Mines was another mountain that had several caves near the top. The rest of the mountain dropped off to a steep and craggy canyon below, leaving no way for regular travelers to be able to visit the peak.

Greyn let out a greeting roar that was soon answered by several different roars from within. Soon tiny specks were seen at the opening of the largest cave before little torches were lit. Glou raised his hand to the men guiding in Greyn before directing the dragon to land just inside the cave. Sophia half expected the dragon to land with his full weight to the ground and cause a tremor, but instead he floated effortlessly down as if he were just a breeze passing through. Greyn continued to walk down the tunnel with Glou and Sophia still on his back. The men with the torches followed them from behind.

They continued to ride Greyn until they came to a deep cavern off to the side where other dragons were sleeping. The men waited at the entrance as Greyn made his way to the center and stopped. Glou let out a stretch before he planted his arms on either side of Sophia and leaned back into her. He smiled as he glanced into her face from his new position.

"Welcome to Fort Bequerel. This is where I train the Dragon Brigade and where our kingdom raises most of the dragons." He then lifted a leg over Greyn's head and dismounted before Sophia could blush at their proximity. Glou raised his hands up towards her so that he could help her down from the dragon. She accepted his help and landed safely on the ground with one of his arms around her waist and his left hand holding her right one. They stayed frozen like that for a few minutes before Glou snapped out of it and turned to one of the men.

"Tend to Greyn while I show Lady Dirna around."

"Yes my Lord," one of them replied back. Greyn snapped his head to glare at Glou, giving him a look that said 'You're leaving me for this _girl_?'

Glou released Sophia's hand to scratch his head and rewarded Greyn with a sheepish look. He received an irritated snort in reply. The arm that was still around her began pushing her forward as Glou led them both out of the sleeping chamber. Sophia kept quiet while he guided her down the long tunnel, past more caverns with more dragons within. She was still blushing from the way Glou had been staring at her a moment ago.

He had an intense look in his eyes, like he was studying her. She almost felt like she was his prey, but he didn't have the predatory look. It was more like …amazement. Like he had never seen anyone like her before. But that wasn't the only thing that made her freeze up. She had always loved looking into Albel's eyes because they were such a lovely crimson color, but Glou's were somehow prettier. She didn't see any pain or distrust in his eyes. His eyes were happy and shone with confidence. Maybe once upon a time, Albel's eyes were just like his.

When Sophia pulled out of her thoughts, she realized that Glou had long since removed his arm from around her and she had been following him in a daze. She also noticed that he had been talking the entire time, telling her about the Dragon Brigade and where each tunnel led. It wasn't long before he realized that she wasn't paying attention and stopped.

"Sorry," he started with a nervous laugh as he rubbed the back of his neck, "I guess I'm not that good of a guide. I'm putting you to sleep aren't I?"

"No!" she denied quickly, shaking her head, "It's not that! It's just that I'm…tired."

She silently hoped he would believe her excuse. She didn't mean to zone out and she didn't want to give Glou the impression that he was boring her. Almost immediately he appeared sympathetic.

"Oh right… You've been through a lot today. I guess you _would_ be tired. …I'll show you to your chambers so you can rest. We'll discuss what to do about your little… _problem_ in the morning."

"Okay," Sophia nodded. Glou looked like he wanted to wrap his arm around her, but restrained himself and continued walking forward instead. Sophia bit her lip nervously and followed him. After a bit more walking, they came to a large set of wooden doors at the end of the main tunnel. Glou continued to stride over to the doors as two guards rushed over to open them for him. They gave Sophia curious glances as she walked by a little less confidently than Glou.

Behind the large doors was a breath-taking sight. The tunnel widened drastically into a grand chamber with several floors. There must have been at least 30 circular walkways surrounding the walls and over-looked the central part of the room. Up above, there was a giant hole in the ceiling that allowed starlight and moonshine to enter. Sophia noticed that they were not on the bottom floor, but were instead on the second or third level. Down below, she could see several men in armor sparring with each other at one end of the humongous chamber. On the other side more men were sitting at long wooden benches, eating and socializing. Suddenly a thought came to Sophia.

"Hey, I thought you said that the brigades were composed of 'snot nosed nobles'?" she wondered as she stopped to glance over the edge of the walkway. She continued to follow him as he placed his hands behind his back and gave her a smug, proud look.

"I did. But I train _my_ brigade to be an army. Right now there are actually five brigades in existence, but only the Dragon Brigade and the Storm Brigade are militarizing its members." Glou paused and threw an almost disdainful glare down at his men, "But don't be fooled. The men below are _hardly_ fit to be warriors… I'll change that soon enough."

"Oh," she answered softly. She was once again briefly reminded of Albel and his dislike of weak warriors. Suddenly she felt several eyes on her and turned to find that all the men below were staring at her. Somewhere along the line, someone had announced that Glou had returned and everyone stopped to stand at attention before him. Naturally they were bound to be curious of the strange girl that was following their captain…

Sophia began to feel self-conscious and suddenly wished the skirt she was wearing was a bit longer. She could clearly see the lecherous grins some of the men were giving her. Glou noticed too and was quick to stand between her and their piercing eyes.

"Men!" he shouted clearly in an authoritative voice, "We have an important guest staying with us tonight and I expect you act in a civilized manner. The Baroness of Belphobe is off-limits and if any of you even look at her funny…"

Glou trailed off to let the words sink in before he let out his favorite sadistic smirk, "…You'll know what I'll do to you."

Sophia watched as many of the warriors visibly flinched and quickly averted their eyes away from her. She briefly wondered exactly _what_ Glou would do to them, but then decided that she was probably better off not knowing. He gave her a curt nod before grabbing her hand and placing it on his arm. He then led her away from the edge and walked her towards a small doorway.

"Filthy maggots, the lot of them," he muttered, guiding her into the small room. Sophia almost chuckled at the realization of where Albel got his 'unique' language, but was distracted when she was pushed on a flat stone plate that was in the center of the room. Glou waved his hand over some runes on the wall before he joined her on the plate. Almost instantly, identical runes began glowing on the plate before it started rising from the ground. Sophia held her breath as they arose several floors up and eventually stopped in a room identical to the one they started in. It took a minute for her to realize that she was on an Elicoorian version of an elevator.

Her thoughts were confirmed when they stepped out of the room and she was presented with a more expansive view of the main chamber. They were now very high up and almost close to the ceiling. She figured that they were on the topmost level of the fort. Glou silently watched her as she took in the view with a slight smile on his face. He soon cleared his throat and gestured to her that they should keep moving. Silence remained between them and Sophia eventually figured out that Glou was probably still stewing over the rude welcome his men gave her.

"Um, so I'm a 'Baroness' now?" Sophia inquired gently to both break the silence and change the topic. He quickly faced her as if he just remembered she was there before he answered.

"Yes. The Belphobe family founded and ruled over the town of Belphobe for nearly 150 years until a group of brigands ransacked the town and burned it to the ground three months ago. Baron Alonze, …we'll say he's your uncle, was sixth in line for the throne. I don't expect you to remember this, but Belphobe was south of Kirlsa and under the rule of Count Woltar and Count Woltar and his lands are under my rule."

She pieced the information together and tried to remember the hierarchy of Airyglyph, "So then you're a Duke?"

"That's right…you didn't know?" he wondered with an amused grin.

"No…your son never mentioned his nobility. I've only heard him called 'Lord' by the people." Sophia wondered why that was since she remembered that Woltar was always referred as 'Count Woltar' and Albel would always curse a man called 'Duke Vox'. Maybe it was a sign of modesty…or maybe no one else knew what Albel was and called him 'Lord' so they wouldn't insult him.

"…Hmm. I wonder if it's because I discourage others from calling me by title? Well no matter, here's where you'll be staying," he said, opening the door to a lavish chamber that was fit for nobility. Glou then pointed to another door that was just across from them, "If you need anything, I'll be just across from you. I'll send a maid over to deliver you something to eat and a change of clothes."

Her stomach rumbled at the mention of food. Now that she thought about it, she hadn't had a bite to eat since she had passed out in her present time, "Thank you Glou-for everything."

It was his turn to blush as he rubbed the back of his neck, "Don't mention it! …I'll, uh…take my leave now. Good night…Sophia."

He said her name softly as he bowed and kissed the back of her hand again. It wasn't until the door to his room closed that she realized that she had been smiling dreamily at him from his chivalrous act. With a blush, she closed the door to her room and leaned against the frame. It was in the quiet of her room that yet another thought entered her mind. Didn't Albel once tell Fayt that his mother was a baroness? She wished she could remember if he mentioned what his mother was the baroness of…

* * *

Glou paced back and forth in his chambers as he thought of the predicament he was in. He made all those vows to protect Sophia and help her find her way back to her time. He had no doubt he could protect her, but how can he help her get back? He didn't know any runology, let alone any spells that might warp time. He knew next to nothing of Andrea's exploits or details of how she made it into the past. He feared that his help was pretty much useless to her.

He numbly sat down on his bed as he thought back on how the day began. When he first saw Sophia sleeping on the ground, he thought an angel of Apris had fallen to Elicoor. Of course he wasn't foolish to not realize that she actually _was_ human, but he was completely taken back from her beauty. Glou had seen many Glyphian and Aquarian beauties during his teen years, but they were all caked in heavy amounts of make-up and were marinating in expensive perfumes. Sophia had a natural beauty about her and whatever perfume she wore didn't overpower the senses.

But there was another thing that made her so different from all the other women. Sophia was such a delicate thing, and yet she wasn't scared of battle. Sure he's seen lady warriors from Aquaria, but most were too masculine for his taste. Sophia needed protection and she certainly wasn't a fighter, but that didn't stop her from fighting back the best she could. Most other women like her would give up or faint. And her eyes… Glou closed his eyes as he remembered the looks she had given him. She had expressive eyes and he could see inner strength in them.

Glou had every intention of getting to know her, to find out her origins and what made her so strong. …And deep down a little part of him wanted to know if there was a chance he could court her. She _was_ intriguing and he was sure they could get along. If it weren't for the fact that she wasn't of his time period, he would definitely pursue her. Ironic. The first woman he's shown genuine interest in and he can't court her. Even if he could win her heart, there was no guarantee that she could stay. She would probably miss her friends…and she probably had no control or choice should the opportunity for her to return arose.

He found himself pacing in his room again and scowled. He needed to clear his head if he wanted to get any rest tonight. With that thought, he opened the door and strode out. He glanced at Sophia's door for a minute, scowled again, and then walked off. He didn't make it far when a middle-aged man with dark hair blocked his path.

"So is it true that you have brought a lady friend with you?"

Glou nearly cringed at the teasing tone in Count Woltar's voice. What ill luck that he had to visit Fort Bequerel this day. Woltar was one of many nobles concerned about Glou's still single status and lack of an heir. Of course somewhere deep down, Glou imagined that Woltar would still manage to know about Sophia even if he hadn't visited today. Woltar was creepy like that…

"Well…" Glou started carefully, not wanting to create a misunderstanding, "…she is a lady and she is a _friend_ …and she is _not_ staying in my room."

Woltar's eyes lit with joy as Glou resisted the urge to hit himself in the face. All he managed to do was explain that she wasn't a harlot he found off the street.

"So then you _are_ courting a woman! I do hope it turns out for the better. You need an heir-"

"I rescued Lady Dirna, I'm not courting her," he interrupted before Woltar got the attention of every knight and maid in the fort. Woltar's calculating eyes narrowed in confusion as he tried to recall the name.

"Lady Dirna? I never heard of a Dirna save for the Aquarian goddess. Where does she hail?"

"Um…" Glou tried hard to stare into the elder man's eyes and he carefully recited the story he fabricated for Sophia, "She is the niece of the late Baron Alonze. I found her in the company of brigands and helped her escape. I believe that they were the ones who destroyed Belphobe and they must have kidnapped her."

"Belphobe!" he called out in surprise before lowering his tone, "Does the king know there is a survivor?"

He almost cringed again at the mention of the king. Glou forgot that he needed to report to His Majesty about this because he was desperately searching for a way to save the family. Hopefully the king won't expect much of Sophia with her being a girl, but the news that there was a survivor should bring some cheer to the public.

"We just arrived here. I was planning to take her to Airyglyph in the morning."

Woltar calmed himself from the unexpected shock and thought over the information, "Yes, that is the best course of action. I'm quite relieved that there was a survivor after all. …But the poor dear must be startled and confused."

"Indeed…" Glou replied cryptically, making Woltar pause.

"You better treat her well," the older warrior warned with a glare.

"Of course." He glared back, insulted that Woltar would think he'd treat Sophia poorly.

"Be aware that she is feeling lonely now. All of her friends and family are gone and she has no one left. I wouldn't be surprised if she is crying right now."

"She is a strong woman," Glou argued, a little uncomfortable at how Woltar's words were fairly close to the truth. Sophia must have been missing her friends…

"…Perhaps you could purchase her some flowers to distract her from her pain. A merchant just arrived with some," Woltar added with a small secretive smile as he turned away from Glou. Glou was more focused on his worrying over Sophia to realize that he was being set up by the older man.

"Yes…that sounds like a good idea," he agreed distantly.

Woltar let out a full smile as he began walking away, "…And maybe a marriage proposal will take all of her worries away."

"W-what?" Glou turned to face Woltar's retreating form as he was pulled back into reality. He growled when he realized that he sounded like a love-struck fool in front of the aged war strategist.

…But… maybe a small gift _would_ make Sophia feel better. He continued on his way down the hall to seek the merchant Woltar spoke of.

* * *

A few hours later, Sophia was dressed in a long flowing nightgown made of white silk as she prepared to go to bed. The maids had come by to serve Sophia dinner and draw a bath for her. They also left her a beautiful gown that a noblewoman had left behind when she had last visited. It was long lavender colored dress with white trimmings and a dark purple bodice made of velvet. It was a gown fit for a princess.

With all this treatment, Sophia felt like a princess. She almost felt like this was all a dream. A handsome knight had rescued her, she was technically swept off her feet when they rode Greyn to the fort, and she was pampered like she was royalty. This was definitely worth getting caught in a gigantic spider's web! With a content sigh, she twirled around once, letting the skirt of her nightgown flow out, and then headed for her comfy looking bed.

"What a stunning beauty you are…"

She froze as she heard the words. Hadn't she locked the door? How did someone get in her room? She faced the intruder slowly and found a man who looked about the same age as Glou. He had brown hair that was neatly groomed, his eyes were a pale blue, and he wore rich clothes that gave her the impression that he was nobility.

"Who are you?" she inquired guardedly as she self-consciously crossed her arms. Even though her nightgown covered a lot, she still felt exposed with the way the man was leering at her.

"My name is none of your business," he replied arrogantly as he took a step further into her room. Her heart began beating harder as her body reacted to the situation. Something was wrong here. This man wasn't someone she could trust.

"Then why are you here?" Sophia continued as she backed away from the stranger.

"Why else? I want to be satisfied. Now come here and perform your duty," he said with a perverted smirk.

"W-what?" she squeaked and then blushed when she figured out what he was asking for. She backed away again before she was within arm's length of him, "H-how _dare_ you come into my room and ask for th-_that_!"

"Insolent whore! Don't think for a second that the special treatment you have been receiving will relieve you of your job!" Now the man was angry as he stormed over to tower over her. Fury took over her fear as she frowned up at the man.

"I am not a whore…" she muttered darkly. This time the man let out a chuckle as if she had told a funny joke. With a quick glance around her room, he moved away from her to walk over to her discarded clothing.

"I heard reports from the soldiers that the captain returned with a young woman who was barely dressed and showed off her thighs." He then picked up her short skirt and gave her a knowing look, "This is what a whore wears my dear. I don't know what the captain had told you or how you met him, but you are a whore and you were brought here to entertain the men."

"All because I wear short clothing does not make me a whore! Crimson Blades wear short skirts in their uniforms!" Sophia argued heatedly as she tried to storm over to her door and call for help. Obviously this man wasn't present when Glou threatened everyone. By now she was more infuriated with the intruder than she was afraid of him. She was blocked from her goal as the man stepped between her and the door.

"Crimson Blades _are_ whores," he growled as his eyes explored the curves of her body.

"Get out of my room!" Sophia yelled angrily before the man advanced on her.

* * *

Glou hummed lightly as he made his way back to the upper floor of his fortress. The merchant was from Peterny and he managed to buy a bouquet of Palmira's Flowers and all of them were still in bloom. There were only fifty delicate flowers tied in a sturdy red thread, but he figured it was impossible to be able to tie one thousand together to make the wishing charm. Still, wishing charm or not, they were beautiful and fragrant. He was sure Sophia would love them.

The sound of something shattering broke him out of his light daydream and alerted his senses. Something was wrong… He quickened his strides over to his room and realized that Sophia's door was opened just a crack. At first he couldn't hear anything amiss until he heard a very masculine voice growling from within.

"You're a feisty young thing aren't you? I'll make sure you _never_ do that again."

The flowers fell from his hand and unto the floor as Glou quickly crossed the hall and threw open the door to Sophia's room. The first thing he saw was Sophia pinned against the wall with a man's fist pulling at her long hair. Glou's vision nearly went red with outrage when he saw the look of fear and pain in her eyes. He clenched his fist and walked over to the man.

Sophia noticed Glou first and managed to let out a smirk of her own, "Your _captain_ ordered that I was not to be touched. You better stop now before you regret it."

"Scream all you want you filthy slut, not even the captain will come save you."

"Is that what you think, worm?"

The intruder's eyes widened in slight fear as he recognized the voice. Almost immediately the fist in Sophia's hair was gone as the man was forcibly pulled away from her. Glou took a good look at his insubordinate underling and noticed that there were bleeding cuts all over his face. After quick inspection of the room, he found a shattered porcelain vase with a bit of blood on the floor nearby. That must have been the shattering noise he heard earlier. Sophia must have thrown it at him to protect herself…

"Glou I…"

"How dare you try to defile the Baroness, Vox!" Glou interrupted the man as he stood between him and Sophia, "I gave explicit orders that she was to be left alone."

Sophia watched in amazement as the man named Vox cowered before Glou. Glou was actually much shorter than Vox and yet still appeared intimidating enough to silence the man. Vox's eyebrows rose when he heard of Sophia's 'status'.

"_This_ girl? A Baroness? But she was barely dressed in rags!"

Glou sighed in disgust, "You fool, have the old fables taught you nothing as a child? Never judge someone by their appearances. Lady Dirna was rescued from brigands. There wasn't much else she _could_ wear."

True that was a lie, but Vox didn't need to know that. For the most part, Vox did look truly apologetic that he attacked Sophia, but he didn't appear too happy at the fact that he was being berated and punished by his captain. Sophia quickly picked up on the impression that Vox did not like Glou and his authority over him.

"My lady," he bowed towards her after Glou was finished yelling at him, "I do apologize for the misunderstanding and I hope that you would find it in your heart to forgive me."

She wasn't sure if she could. After all the things he said about her and about Crimson Blades, she wasn't certain that this Vox was a nice or understanding person. And even though he appeared sorry, she couldn't tell if it was because he really was sorry or that he was sorry that he was caught. But still, she wasn't the type to hold a grudge and she didn't want to get on Vox's bad side just in case it would give him reason to bother her more.

"…I accept your apology. I hope we can put this behind us and forget about it."

Glou had been glaring at the opposite wall and then whipped his head in Sophia's direction when she forgave Vox. She was nearly raped by the man and she _forgave _him? He then noticed the uncertainty in her eyes and caught the slight grimace when Vox kissed the back of her hand. Was she threatened when he turned away? Or maybe she was frightened enough to say anything that would make him leave.

He refused to look Vox in the eye as he gave his final order, "From now on, you are to patrol the Mosel Desert for the next three weeks. Don't _ever_ let me catch you near Lady Dirna again."

He _felt_ the glare Vox gave him before the man stormed out of Sophia's room. While he was insubordinate enough to not answer his captain, Glou knew he would follow orders. At the very least, Sophia wouldn't have to deal with him for a long time…maybe ever if she was lucky. When he was sure Vox was gone, he glanced at the door. He noticed that the handle was broken clean off from the outside, granting easy access for anyone.

Vox knew better than to break into rooms that were locked so why was he so adamant about getting in? And since when did he ever need a woman to- …well Glou could never claim to know his private life, but still. Vox put the military and the glory of Airyglyph before his needs, he would never seek the company of a woman within the walls of Fort Bequerel. Suddenly Glou's blood ran cold. Surely Vox didn't do this because he thought Sophia was important to him?

Glou knew that Vox disliked him and that he was bitter about the fact that Glou was chosen to be the captain. There were a few times where he would intentionally disobey his orders or undermine his authority by ordering the knights around behind his back. But would he really go so far as to harm the people around him? No… He was probably over thinking the situation. Vox was always sort of an elitist and he probably couldn't stand the thought of someone who looked like a vagabond receiving royal treatment. Come to think of it…he did back off fairly quickly after learning Sophia was a 'baroness'. Maybe that was it.

"Um…" Glou was quickly pulled out of his thoughts at the sound of her timid voice.

"Did he hurt you?" He inwardly cursed at the tone of his voice. He was still angry and it showed.

"…No, but I think I hurt him more." He had to smile at that.

"Good. Vox should be put in his place by a woman. It's only fitting for the likes of him."

Sophia blanched as a thought came to her, "He isn't married is he? I'd feel sorry for his wife."

"No, he isn't. Thank Apris," he replied with a grin.

"Thank Apris…" she repeated, "I would hate to see him have children."

If Glou hadn't already liked Sophia, that would have done it. She had a sense of humor that most women would find vulgar to say in mixed company. While ladies would gossip about the most scandalous things in their private circles, none would ever joke about sex or marital issues. It was taboo for women.

"Well it looks like this room isn't safe for you anymore. Why don't you sleep in my room and I'll stay in here," he said as he guided her to the door. Even though he couldn't see it, her eyes widened and a blush formed on her face at the thought of sleeping in _his_ bed.

"Are you sure?"

"I'm sure," he reassured, "No one dares to go into my room and I want to stay in your room and see who _else_ is willing to disobey me."

A mental image flashed through her head of a desperate soldier hoping to get lucky with a girl. She almost chuckled out loud at the look on the imaginary soldier's face as they lift the covers of the bed to find their captain glaring back. For some reason, Sophia felt calm about the situation despite the fact that someone tried to rape her. Maybe she felt safe knowing that Glou was only going to be across from her. She knew that she could trust him to save her when she was in danger. …And it's not like she hasn't been in similar situations before.

At first, when a man would try anything funny with her, Fayt and the others would always be around to save her. And after she learned how to fight from Nel and Mirage, she was able to defend herself. It seemed that some men didn't like women who could fight back and that was fine with her. But Sophia just learned that there were some men who could still overpower her…and if Glou hadn't shown up, who knew what could have happened? Some part of her didn't mind relying on someone coming to save her, but she knew that there might be a day when no one could help her. That's what scared her more than what happened earlier. She didn't want to think about what would happen if her friends weren't there to save her and she couldn't defend herself…

Glou gave a gentle push to the small of her back to move her out of the room. He then escorted her across the hall to his door, but stopped when she noticed something on the floor a few feet away. The Palmira's Flowers were still laying on the floor and appeared to have been kicked across the hall. Probably Vox's doing. Glou left Sophia's side to pick them up and noted that the string had come loose around the flower stems.

"I bought these for you. I was hoping that they might cheer you up from everything that has happened," he offered in explanation before holding the bouquet out to her, "I was going to give them to you in the morning, but…here."

Sophia also noticed the condition of the flowers and placed her hands around Glou's. He slowly slipped his hands away so that the flowers wouldn't fall out of her grasp, but he stayed close by as she leaned in to smell them.

"They're beautiful! Thank you, Glou."

He let out a smile as he prepared to back away and head to her old room, "You're welcome. I hope you sleep well."

But he soon found himself in a mess as a tug on his fingers stopped him. The thread around the flowers had somehow tangled around the fingers of his left hand. He tried to gently yank himself loose, but ended up causing some of the flowers to fall to the floor. Sophia watched with an amused expression on her face before she tried to help him. She moved the remaining flowers to one hand so she could use her free hand to untangle Glou, but she also found that her own left hand was in a similar situation.

"Oops…" she chuckled lightly as she tried to free her fingers.

"Wait, I have a knife in my room. We can use it to cut ourselves loose." Glou kneeled down for a moment to collect the fallen flowers before maneuvering the two of them inside his room. His room was the same style as hers, but he had a desk, bookshelves lined with books, and a collection of swords hanging on his wall. He guided her to his desk and had her let go of the flowers so they could see the tangle better.

It was then that Sophia felt her heart pound. It felt like some kind of omen with the way their fingers were bound together by crimson thread. Wasn't there some kind of legend or fairy tale that involved crimson thread? The thread suddenly appeared stronger as Glou fished a small dagger out of one of his drawers. He made several attempts to cut the string, but a sharp pain would shoot through their fingers and travel to their chest when the knife was close by. Something was wrong here…

Glou's eyes narrowed as he thought of that merchant from Peterny. He didn't seem like the type to sell enchanted items to harm people. But, he _was_ from Peterny. It may claim to be a neutral city, but it's still in Aquarian territory. He dropped the knife as a new sensation spread through his body. It felt warm in his chest, in the same area where the pain traveled. That warmth soon spread all over his body.

"Glou…I feel…hot," Sophia moaned as her face flushed. His face was flushed as well.

"I don't know what's happening to us…" he admitted before he felt his body move on its own. His free hand came up to stroke her cheek and his eyes were glued to her lips. Sophia lost control of her own body as it leaned toward him. They didn't seem to notice or care that their lips were getting less space between them as it felt like their minds blacked out.

"I heard you sent Duke Vox to patrol the Mosel Dessert. What did he do this time?" a voice called out from the door Glou had left open. It was enough to shock them out of the strange spell and bring them back to their senses. They pulled apart as far as they could, given the fact that the string still bound them together, and faced the newcomer.

Woltar's eyes widened as he realized that Glou wasn't alone. He saw the blush on their faces and decided that he must have interrupted a private moment. He gave a quick bow and a smirk, "My apologies, I didn't know you have company."

"I-it's not what you're thinking! I think someone cast a spell on this thread and…" Glou stopped when he found that the crimson thread was gone from their hands. Sophia also looked surprised.

"…What runology is this?" he whispered to himself, loud enough for her to hear. Runology? …Or 4-D programming? Sophia wondered in her mind. Come to think of it, it would make sense. Only the programmers in 4-D space would be capable of sending her to a different time frame or messing with the 'characters' within their universe. No form of runology or symbology could do this. …But then again, if they are responsible, _why_ would they do this? The last time she checked, Luther was defeated and Blaire had taken over the company. Blaire wouldn't allow something like this, would she?

"Now, now, I completely understand. You don't need to make up a story," Woltar grinned as he reached for the handle of the door, "It's a pleasure to finally meet you Lady Dirna. I will leave now so you can have young Glou all to yourself."

"I _told_ you, it's not like that!" Glou yelled in embarrassment as Woltar left and closed the door behind him. Sophia let out a small squeak as she finally recognized the man. She just met Woltar! She was sure he would remember her in the future. Did she just mess up the timeline? But he called her 'Dirna'…so maybe she was safe.

Glou heard the squeak and mistook it as one of embarrassment from the strategist's words. He quickly got on his knees before her and bowed his head, "I-I'm so sorry about him and all of whatever just happened."

This snapped her out of her thoughts. She smiled and waved a hand in a dismissing manner, "No, it wasn't your fault. You don't need to apologize."

"But I'm the one who bought the flowers. If I had known that string was going to enchant us, I would have never-" he shook his head as a disturbing thought crossed his mind, "Do you even remember what had happened? I was about to cut that string and then the next thing I know, Woltar was in here talking."

Sophia's eyes widened as she tried to remember. The last thing she remembered was feeling pain in her fingers and her heart and something about a legend involving crimson thread. But when she came to, she noticed how close they were and how one of Glou's hands were on her cheek. Did they kiss? She closed her eyes and gave up trying, "I don't remember either, but nothing bad must've happened. …At least I don't think I'm injured. Are you?"

He sat up and began patting himself to check for anything wrong, "No…I seem to be fine. Still, I better check with that merchant. He might have done something."

"I don't think it was him," Sophia said as he stood up, "I'm not completely sure and I can't really explain it, but I think I know what caused this."

She became worried when he asked for more information. How could she explain the Fourth Dimension to him? Even she still had trouble trying to comprehend the idea of another dimension of people who control their lives in a video game. And she still wasn't sure if they were really behind everything…

"I guess it's another 'future' thing, huh?" he said after a long silence from her.

"Kind of…" she admitted meekly while giving him an apologetic look, "I think it has something to do with me. Strange things might happen around me like with the enchanted string. …Maybe I'm cursed."

"Don't say that. Who would want to curse someone as wonderful as you?" he said reassuringly as he placed a hand on her shoulder. Sophia smiled at the gesture and was about to thank him again when he held his fingers to her lips.

"And don't bother thanking me again. It's the truth. Now why don't you retire for the night? It's already getting late." Glou was already heading for the door, but he stopped after opening it, "If you should find trouble in sleeping, don't hesitate to wake me and tell me what's plaguing you. I am only a room away."

Sophia felt warm and giddy after he finally left. Glou was so nice to her, nicer than even her own friends. It was really hard to believe that he was going to be the father of someone who acted so wicked. But a sharp pain brought her out of her thoughts, causing her to notice the red on her left hand. The crimson string was back, looking like four angry little rings around her fingers. It almost looked like it was protesting that Glou had left. The pain stopped after a few seconds and the threads faded away.

…Just what was this red string? And why was it sticking to her hand? Could it really be a curse? Or was it some kind of message?

* * *

Once again, these will be slow updates so don't panic when you don't see something new for a few months. I'm also working on getting the other two volumes of the Aquios High novel published. The first volume can be purchased on l u l u . c o m. The link is on my author page. See ya next update!


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